After 3 days of treatment, clinical cure was not significantly different between the 3- and 8-day groups, either in the intent-to-treat analysis (69.9% vs. 61.2%) or in the per-protocol analysis (75.7% vs. 68.7%).
Because the trial had closed days before the ECCMID meeting, only the primary endpoints were available for discussion, Dr. Dinh said. Investigators are analyzing the secondary endpoint data, which he said would be published at a later date.
Despite the positive results, Dr. Dinh cautioned against using the study as justification for a one-size-fits-all treatment for community-acquired pneumonia.
“Although I think we demonstrated that 3 days of treatment with beta-lactam is not inferior to 8 days, this cannot be imposed without regard to individual patient status,” he cautioned. Such a treatment paradigm would not be advisable for patients with moderately severe pneumonia, who were excluded from the study, or those with compromised immune systems.